Suchergebnisse

This volume addresses the relationship between childbearing, paid work and work-life balance policies across Europe in the 21st century, illuminating the uncertainty and risk related to insecure labour force attachment, the incoherence of women's and men's access to education and employment and the unequal share of domestic responsibilities, This volume addresses the tensions between work and welfare with respect to fertility. Focusing on childbearing choices (intentions, desires) as influential predictors of future fertility, the contributors examine the importance of labour force attachment on young women's fertility plans in the context of increased labour market flexibility and differences in work-life balance policies across Europe in the early 21st century. Both high- and low-fertility societies of different welfare regimes are studied, illuminating processes of uncertainty and risk related to insecure labour force attachment and the incoherence effect in terms of women's and men's equal access to education and employment but unequal share of domestic responsibilities, constraining fertility. The synthesis of the findings shows how childbearing choices in relation to uncertainty, risk and incoherence offer a lens for understanding the capabilities of families to have and care for children in contemporary Europe. This volume contributes to the conceptual development of further research on the complex relationship between fertility, paid work and work-life balance policies

In this paper we discuss changes in family patterns in the European Union over the past fifty years and the policy implications of these trends. First, we address regional developments in family formation, with respect to childbearing- and partnership patterns, and how these changes affect household structures in different European countries. Thereafter, we turn our attention to socio-economic trends, focusing especially on changes in women's labour force participation. We address the linkages between these trends and the new family patterns, followed by a discussion on policies, mainly at the EU-level. In the brief conclusion we summarize the main policy challenges ahead. Throughout, we rely on data from the Eurostat Database, Eurobarometer, OECD Labour Force Statistics and the OECD Family Database. ; FamiliesAndSocieties

AbstractThis paper examines the childbearing behaviour of Polish migrant women and their descendants in Sweden. Also considering stayers in the country of origin, we rely on a country-of-origin and country-of-destination approach in a careful examination regarding the relevance of three hypotheses on migrant fertility: the socialisation, selection, and adaptation hypotheses. We analyse the transitions to first and second births based on a piecewise exponential model, using Swedish register data and the Polish Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) first wave. The results support the socialisation hypothesis, as the Polish stayers and the first-generation Polish migrants have their first child at younger ages and are less likely to remain childless than the other groups but are also more likely to not proceed to a second child, unlike the Swedish natives and the second generation. We find partial support for the selection hypothesis. Descriptively, we observe signs of selection into migration based on education, cohort, and marital status. Additionally, our study shows that the impact of marriage varies between stayers and migrants, in the first-birth transition, suggesting selection into migration when it comes to unobserved characteristics as well. The adaptation hypothesis is also supported, as the fertility behaviour of the second generation more closely resembles that of the Swedish natives than that of the first generation and differs more from that of the Polish stayers in terms of both quantum and timing of the first and second births.

This working paper summarizes the main results produced in the large scale collaborative research project FamiliesAndSocieties, financed in the EU Seventh Framework Programme during the period February 2013 – January 2017. Addressing first the growing diversity of family life courses and their main mechanisms of change, the research then focuses on linked lives and interdependencies through the lens of changing gender and intergenerational dependencies. Societal contexts and policies are addressed in highlighting vulnerable groups, issues of recognition and social inclusion, and family-relevant EU and national level policies. A brief discussion on future social risks and policy challenges, and on the implications of the project findings for policy frameworks concludes this report. ; Research within the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 320116 for the research project FamiliesAndSocieties.

Collaborative research project financed by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme 2013-2017 (Grant no. 320116, FP7-SSH-2012-1).

Die EU stand in jüngster Zeit vor erheblichen demografischen Herausforderungen und dies wird sich auch in Zukunft kaum ändern. Der Beitrag analysiert daher, warum und wie demografische Diskurse von illiberalen, rechten und konservativen Kräften übernommen wurden. Anhand von Twitter-Postings von Mitgliedern und politischen Parteien des Europäischen Parlaments zwischen 2015 und 2021 wird untersucht, i) wer die Hauptakteur*innen in Hinblick auf die Interpretation demografischer Trends sind, ii) welche Themen sie diskutieren und welche Erklärungsrahmen sie verwenden. Eine kritische Diskursanalyse dient dabei als analytisches Werkzeug. Somit ergänzt die vorliegende Studie den aktuellen Forschungsstand und präsentiert die erste quantitative Analyse historischer Twitter-Daten im Bereich demografiepolitischer Diskurse. Dabei zeigen die wichtigsten Ergebnisse der Twitter-Analyse: Die EU-Institutionen sind sich bewusst, dass der demografische Wandel in erster Linie durch die Bevölkerungsalterung, Migration und niedrige Geburtenraten verursacht wird. Zwar besteht unter allen EU-Akteur*innen Einigkeit darüber, dass die Bevölkerungsalterung eine große demografische Herausforderung darstellt, andere Trends hingegen bleiben nach wie vor umstritten oder werden nur vage erwähnt.

Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life covers four issues of cross-cutting importance to families Structures and forms of families: issues relating to a diversification of families away from the 'traditional nuclear family form' are relatively uncontroversial from an academic perspective, but much more so for policy makers and family associations. Chapter 1 provides a thorough overview of the state of contemporary European families. Solidarities in families: too often the issue of an 'ageing society' is simply reduced to the problem of over-burdening social care systems, but longevity also represents opportunities for new kinds of solidarities inside families and family networks, and new relations between family members – not to mention the satisfaction felt by people who can continue to live fulfilling and rewarding lives long after they're considered 'elderly'. Chapter 2 gives voice to authors who identify these new opportunities and challenges. Demographic change: women are having fewer children and having them later in life. Having children is now a conscious decision and fertility rates have declined below the level required to sustain our current populations. At the same time we witness the 'greying' of Europe, which brings with it a whole host of opportunities and challenges. Chapter 3 raises important issues for policy makers today. Volunteering: inspired by family associations who could not survive without the support of volunteers, this chapter gives an overview of what's known - and what isn't - about volunteering. Coinciding with the European Year of Volunteering 2011, this chapter takes a timely look at the efforts that families put into volunteering across Europe and the important benefits that Europe gains from all of this combined voluntary effort. Linden Farrer and William Lay work for the Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union (COFACE). This publication was produced by FAMILYPLATFORM, a project funded by the European Commission.

Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life covers four issues of cross-cutting importance to families Structures and forms of families: issues relating to a diversification of families away from the 'traditional nuclear family form' are relatively uncontroversial from an academic perspective, but much more so for policy makers and family associations. Chapter 1 provides a thorough overview of the state of contemporary European families. Solidarities in families: too often the issue of an 'ageing society' is simply reduced to the problem of over-burdening social care systems, but longevity also represents opportunities for new kinds of solidarities inside families and family networks, and new relations between family members – not to mention the satisfaction felt by people who can continue to live fulfilling and rewarding lives long after they're considered 'elderly'. Chapter 2 gives voice to authors who identify these new opportunities and challenges. Demographic change: women are having fewer children and having them later in life. Having children is now a conscious decision and fertility rates have declined below the level required to sustain our current populations. At the same time we witness the 'greying' of Europe, which brings with it a whole host of opportunities and challenges. Chapter 3 raises important issues for policy makers today. Volunteering: inspired by family associations who could not survive without the support of volunteers, this chapter gives an overview of what's known - and what isn't - about volunteering. Coinciding with the European Year of Volunteering 2011, this chapter takes a timely look at the efforts that families put into volunteering across Europe and the important benefits that Europe gains from all of this combined voluntary effort. Linden Farrer and William Lay work for the Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union (COFACE). This publication was produced by FAMILYPLATFORM, a project funded by the European Commission.